Printing in India by Walter S. Mead

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 16, 1916

Printing in India

By Walter S. Mead

THE readers of the REVIEW know we have a printing office in India. Many know it is in Lucknow. But a printing office may be anything from a box of type and a hand press to a ten-story building with four thousand employees.

Come, let us spend ten minutes in our Lucknow printing office. All is on one floor, in one large room built for a printing office. The superintendent’s desk is raised so that he can overlook the whole shop from where he sits.

On the right we see seven Indians at work at type cases. Three are Mohammedans, three Hindus, and one is a Christian. All these are on English work. One is setting a tract, “Who Changed the Sabbath?” two are setting on the next Herald of Health, a monthly magazine; and the others are making up pages and distributing type. Do they understand what they are setting?—Not a word. It is purely a matter of setting what is just before them; so you’d better be careful what you write on the “copy.” But do they set clean proofs?—Oh, as clean as the average in any shop.

Who is the man sitting in the midst of four cases? That is our Bengali compositor. He is correcting page proofs of a leaflet, “The Home of the Saved,” of which we shall print ten thousand for free distribution in Bengal.

And the three men at work in the far corner? One is setting the closing pages of a two-hundred-page book of Bible readings in Marathi, for use over on the Bombay side. The other two are at work on our Hindi quarterly magazine, of which we print fifteen hundred for use in north India.

See the man sitting there by the door on the far side of the room, directly in front of us? He is writing Urdu on a stone, from which we shall print on the lithograph press the quarterly magazine in Urdu for use in north India. The Hindi and Urdu magazines contain the same matter, but the one is printed from type for Hindu readers, and the other in Urdu (or Persian) script for Mohammedan readers.

Now look in the far corner on your left, and see our oil engine, which runs by means of Standard oil—kerosene. The engine has done long but not very faithful service, for it is very cranky

about starting, and frequently goes on strike. Some day it will be displaced by an electric motor.

This way from the engine is the litho press for Urdu work. Next is an old drum-cylinder press that has turned out tons of work in days gone by, but which is now a bit loose-jointed. However, it is still able to help when we need a lift. Next to it is a newer drum-cylinder press, upon which we rely for the daily output. Facing these three presses are two job presses and a good stitcher.

In the near left corner is the paper cutter, and between it and us is our latest piece of machinery—a type caster.

On a slightly raised platform in the center of the room sit, cross-legged, the two binders and the boys who fold the printed sheets. What are they folding now?—Some Urdu Sabbath school lesson books for north India.

And these two huge parcels beside us are Marathi magazines ready to be sent to Bombay for the colporteurs; and that box by the door contains five thousand Bengali magazines just completed for Bengal.

In all, the shop has 22 workmen: 12 Mohammedans, 7 Hindus, and 3 Christians. They work eight hours a day, six days a week, and get, on an average, about five dollars a month; nor are they underpaid.

So this is our India printing office.

WALTER S. MEAD.